The public health story here should be that the heavily regulated milk industry and all its attending milk processing laws are working incredibly effectively. There are no known cases of a person getting sick from the avian flu from drinking pasteurized milk. Testing began six months ago and since then, no pasteurized milk has been found to have the flu variant.

Recently, the avian flu H5N1 has been found in cows in California, and the governor has declared a state of emergency. The avian flu has also been found in birds and some mammals in many parts of the country. The variant’s destruction of the bird population has been immense, but not widely reported, in my view. The variant’s appearance in milk is a valid concern to NIH researchers and food safety groups because when milk is left raw – unpasteurized – H5N1 remains alive. Dairy is one of the essential foods of the US and in fact the world. 

However, how concerning is this for American consumers of milk?

Three questions:

1. How safe is milk and can we monitor for contamination?
2. What happens to farm workers who come into contact with the strain?
3. What happens to the cows?

Quick answers:

1. Pasteurization works. Pasteurized milk is safe
2. The number of workers infected is low and thus far treatable
3. Cows can be treated and unlike birds, not euthanized

Thankfully, because of pasteurization, despite the presence of H5N1 in some dairy cows in California, our milk supply to date has been proven safe. Pasteurization works. There are no known cases of a person getting sick from the avian flu from drinking pasteurized milk.

Pasteurization works for many dangerous pathogens. E.coli ran through apple juice and cider in the early 1990’s and the resulting safety response was to pasteurize cider. The problem disappeared. Some special-interest groups don’t like pasteurization laws; However, personal choice is made for one’s body or on behalf of one’s family. Public policy is about the best health outcomes for a wide population. The two are not the same. Conflating personal choice and public policy makes bad public policy. Good science and plans that can be implemented across varied demographics and behaviors make good policy.

When reporting on public health issues, the media must put aside biases for and against farming practices like large-scale operations. Their reporting needs to include context like raw milk is a tiny fraction of milk consumed. Responsible coverage should also include systemic risks and contingency plans. In this particular instance, the milk industry is well positioned. Milk is under rigorous and continuous testing, which makes adding variants to the test not difficult and easily executed.

Takeaways from this topic: There should be no panic. Pasteurization has shown to be effective against H5N1 and the US system of processing and monitoring milk is good public policy. The subject and science are complex and headlines that blur other agendas with this topic are decidedly unhelpful. Over 99% of all milk consumed in the US is pasteurized.